Matcha Bread With Red Bean And White Chocolate 抹茶红豆与白巧克力面包

Its currently 1:52am right now and I'm entering a blog entry about a bread I made yesterday. How weird. I mean I don't usually blog this late but I guess somedays you just have that feeling to pour out your thoughts. Anyways, its been almost a year since I touched bread dough because I always had to sacrifice my sleep to keep an eye on the proofing. Oh, how naive. Prior to this baking session, I did more intense research about bread dough and their specifics so that I can control my dough better and plan my time out. Yes, baking bread requires you to manage your time if you want to make full use of the proofing time.  I was also more motivated to bake during the weekends once I started work, I wanted to be more productive as possible. So I began baking at 2pm on Sunday and did the measurements like how I always baked my cake and mix them up. I did panicked when the dough became super gooey when I added in butter but it was nothing, everything turned out fine once I kept on kneading.

Okay, this session also made me understand more on how kneading increases the gluten content in the flour as our kneading stretches the gluten found in dough (if I'm not wrong heh). When it comes to kneading, I literally use my whole body weight to knead for the fullest potential and I was drenched from sweating lol. I checked on the dough to see if its ready during kneading intervals — a "window pane" test, whereby the dough is almost translucent when slowly stretched. If it breaks right away, I would have to knead another 10mins (and I think it happened almost 10000 times, jk).

- proofing time -

Everything was alright until the folding in of red beans and white chocolate part. I was suppose to roll out the dough to a 10cm X 27 Cm and place a tbsp of red bean and white chocolate. Guess what? The red bean I bought was to mushy and watery that it caused the first dough to be soggy and messy that it turned into a scone like shape lmao (I gave up). I learnt my lesson and allow the water to drain off from the red bean and then placed it as said for the second dough.
It worked, kinda.

It didn't turned out super perfect or anything but I can say it was hard work. When I ate the slices of bread the next morning, it was pretty good tho. It has the subtle matcha flavour paired with the sweet red beans and white chocolate. Perfect (for a first try heh).

I would say that I don't usually share my baking mistakes here. However, as of 2018, I should embrace them and learn a thing or two from those failures. A new start maybe?

Fluffy Japanese Pancakes | 松软的日式厚煎饼

The sunlight this morning was soft and warm which was quite a rare sight as we enter the monsoon season. It has been always been of thunderstorms and drizzles then out comes of the blazing sun, a very bipolar weather indeed. So before it hits the gloomy afternoons, we decided to whip some extra fluffy pancakes that has a little twist with the Japanese Pancakes style. Fruits such as blueberries, apples, strawberries or bananas can pair along with this versatile recipe. To end off the morning in a better note, pour over warm maple syrup and a knob of classic butter. Recipe adapted from food network! 

A little thought in my head: Listening to music is definitely something everyone does. However, lately I've been trying to keep it in moderate whereby I try not to listen music in the train, the bus or just crossing the road. Weird huh? Its the sound of everyday life I'm missing. The conversations of strangers, the engine of the bus on the road, the footsteps that people make, the rustling of the leaves, the pitter-patter of rain and so much more. Your stillness along with the on-going bustling city life makes you appreciate the blissfulness you are in. I don't know why but the city noise and unpleasant hearings, somehow reminds you that you are very much alive, and breathing.

Okay bye.

6:00, why so magical?

These days, I've been staying at home trying to finish up the last bits of my submissions. Time has to be on my side or else its a goodbye to both my grade and hardwork. But everyday, as it hits 6pm, I always pause and just admire the sky. I don't know why and how, something about that time frame, always brings a sense of calm and comfort. The colour palettes are never the same, but are always among the pink, orange, blues and grey. Okay the sunsets above are not the ones you see on google whereby the horizon is just bright orange and strong hues of red, but its still full of magic.  So, I was curious and went to did a lil' research on why are sunsets so mesmerizing. It draws you in and makes you wander. Apparently its mostly science facts that nitrogen and some Raleigh, the clouds, the temperature, the white light from the Sun plays a part in making it all possible. The time the sunset takes place somehow marks the end of the day for us, hence draining down our worries.  Peter Hung, a blogger I stumble upon researching, wrote something really meaningful: We admire the sky at sunset because it is changing to rarer colors. We breathe a sigh of relief because it marks the end of exertion and the start of relaxation. Our memories, the colors, the emotion, the nostalgia, they will be etched into our minds with sunset as their timestamp.  

the ever-changing sky | 千变万化的天空

I think we as humans have always been fascinated by the sky, how it changes so fast and the colours it has. The clouds never seemed to stay still, the golden glow in the morning rise and the darkness it has during the wee hours. Sometimes I grab the opportunity of the soft morning light and bake our home favourite cakes, and it feels really different from baking in the late afternoon.  I am guessing that the morning symbolises a fresh start and a new day, so when you start ahead on the very first thing of the day, you just have the mindset to do it. The accompany of morning light gives you comfort. 

Ever since school started, the place of me admiring the sunrise isn't at home anymore. It is rather done on the bus. Whenever it pass by the reservoir, the sunlight penetrates the windows and cast onto the passengers, if a tree happens to block the sunlight,  it starts a rhythmic flickering of the golden glow in the bus. Of course, not many actually appreciate these details in life anymore. Either most of us catch our sleep in morning bus rides or use our phones, and hence missing the little things. 

As cliche as it seems, when was the last time you saw the sky? 

In our minds, the sky is always the sky. It will always be there for us. 

However, in order to be beautiful, it needs us. 

To admire, to appreciate, and to understand.

             

same same yet different | 不一样又怎样

four of us has been thru thick and thin together during the first year and I can't wait for more adventures with them. still remember texting in class about our new lecturer and couldn't control our laughter throughout the whole lesson, staying up till 5am and complaining "damn tired" everyday, knocking out whenever we can, eating too much for lunch, giving advise for new design ideas and running to the printing shop 5mins before it closes. the 2nd year is starting soon and we are entering into different majors, but I'm sure our friendship is stronger than that.

在第一年一起同甘共苦，努力往前，让我更加期待将来在一起的日子。我还记得我们偷偷传短信关于我们的新教授，让我们无法控制在课堂上的笑声；每天因为作业而一起开夜车也同时不停的抱怨 “ 好累啊！” ；每当我们可以闲聊或空档时，就是趁机补眠 ；午餐时吃太多；为彼此的设计给予灵感与善意的批评；在印刷店5分钟即将打烊之前，才一起到达。虽然我们为自己的未来选择了不同的设计专业，但我相信我们的友情比这分离更加坚强吧。